Creedle etal
retarder



P 20, 1966 F. w. CREEDLE ETAL 3,273,672

RETARDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 5, 1964 Inventors Fred [H.Creedle RG48, w. Mars 5 44w! D0144 & :fl't'tome a sept- 0, 1966 F. w. CREEDLE ETAL 3,273,672

RETARDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 3, 1964 Inventor's Fred W. Creed le Sept. 20, 1966 F. w. CREEDLE ETAL RETARDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 5, 1964 oi mm Inventors Fred W. Creedle Mars E Mar-11259 Sept. 20, 1966 w, CREEDLE ETAL 3,273,672

'. RETARDER Filed Sept. 5, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventors Fred W. Creeclle Rag IN. Mars 23 awed, Md 3 ifl'lfltomegps United States Patent 3,273,672 RETARDER Fred W. Creedle, Park Ridge, and Ray W. Mars, Downers Grove, Ill., assignors to American Brake Shoe Company, New York, N.Y., a corporationof Delaware Filed Sept. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 394,135 9 Claims. (Cl. 18862) The present invention relates to a retarder system for braking railroad cars, and more particularly to a system wherein the retarding or stopping force is proportional to the weight of the railroad car.

The present invention is directed to a retarder system having a retarder mechanism with pivotally mounted levers disposed on opposite sides of a traflic rail and supporting a pair of spaced braking beams between which moves the wheel of the railroad car. The levers for the retarding or braking beams support the trafiic rail. The weigh-t of the railroad car pressing downwardly on the .traflic rail and on the retarding levers forces the retarding levers to pivot to bring the spaced braking beams closer together to exert frictional retarding forces on the car wheel proportional to the weight of the car wheel pressing downwardly on the trailic rail.

An object of the present invention in the type of retarder system described is to remove more quickly the retarding force due to the weight of the railroad car by directly lifting the trafiic rail in a unique fashion to eliminate the weight of the railroad car as an actuating force for the retarder beams. More specifically, as a further object of the invention, the restoring or releasing force for the retarder system is applied directly to the traflic rail by a novel form of apparatus to lift the traflic rail, and incidental to the lifting of the trafiic rail the braking beams are separated.

Another object of the present invention is the elimination of the requirement for a special foundation for the traflic rail lifting device by suspending the traflic rail lifting device in a unique manner on the railroad ties. More particularly, under this object of the invention, the retarder levers are pivotally mounted on support shafts spanning a pair of adjacent railroad ties and fluid operable cylinders are suspended between pairs of adjacent railroad ties and are operable to lift the traffic rail.

According to a specific object of the present invention, the traffic rail rests on a series of retarder levers and the weight of the railroad car on the traffic rail acts as an operating force causing the retarder levers to pivot and to bring the retarding or braking rails to bear against the sides of a car wheel with a force proportional to the weight of the railroad car. Under this object of the invention, the retarding force is removed by a series of fluid operable cylinders suspended between adjacent railroad ties to engage directly and to lift directly the traffic rail to remove the weight of the railroad car as an actuating force for application of braking force.

A further object of the invention is an adjustable interconnection between the traflic rail and an operating lever for the braking beams wherein the position of the braking beams relative to the traflic rail is adjustable by this interconnection. More specifically, another object of the invention is to establish an interconnection between a traflic rail and an operating lever including a slidable block movable by an adjusting screw relative to the operating lever to change the position of the pivotal axis for the opera-ting lever and thereby the position of its braking beam.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what is now considered to be the best mode contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the traffic rail and braking rails carried by the levers, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of a set of retarding levers and a cradle constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a pair of retarding levers;

FIG. 4 illustrates a railroad tie and a gauge for the tratfic rail;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a lever and the adjusting block and bolt;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a cradle assembly for a ram;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cradle assembly for the ram;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the adjusting block;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the adjusting block assembly; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the lines Iii-10 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a plurality of spaced railway ties T supporting a pair of traflic rails 15 on Which the wheels of a railway car will move. The lowermost rail 15, as in FIG. 1, is associated with a retarder mechanism which includes a pair of retarding or braking rails 20 disposed in spaced and parallel relationship to the traffic rail 15. The other traflic rail 15, which is uppermost in FIG. 1, does not have a retarder mechanism for braking or retarding the other car wheels but has a guard rail 22 disposed adjacent thereto for the purpose of preventing the railroad wheel from moving off its associated traffic rai-l while its oppositely associated railroad wheel is in the retarder mechanism.

While a retarding mechanism has been shown as being applied to only one trafiic rail of the pair of traffic rails 15, it is to be understood that each of the traflic rails '15 may be provided with a retarder mechanism of identical construction.

The retarder system functions to move the retarding rails 20 into frictional engagement with the opposite sides of a car wheel rolling over the traffic rail 15 to apply a frictional force suflicient to slow down or, alternatively, to stop entirely the movement of the railway car through the retarder system, depending upon which of these alternatives the system is designed to accomplish.

The car wheel (not shown) rides on the head 24 of the traffic rail 15 between the braking rails 20, which are secured to a plurality of opera-ting or retarder levers 25, FIG. 3, of identical construction. The operating levers 25 are of one-piece cast construction, of ,a generally known type and the levers-25 have a portion extending beneath the traflic rail to the opposite 'side of the traflic rail from the retarding rail 20 secured thereto.

The operating levers 25 are pivotally mounted on support shafts 28 which span a pair of adjacent rai-l way ties T. While the operating. levers 25 are shown pivoted at their outer ends on the shafts 28, the levers 25 may be pivotally supported by disposing the supporting shafts 28 in openings 28a, when it is desired to reduce the amount of leverage and thereby the amount of frictional force being applied by the rails 20 to a car wheel. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, each of the operating levers 25 is a one-piece unitary cast lever having an oblique receiving opening 29 for receiving the lower flange end of 3 v a brake of abrasion rail 20. The braking rail 20 has a web portion 20a secured by suitable nut-bolt fasteners 32 against the top surface 31 of transversely extending supporting portions 33 of the lever 25. As best seen in FIG. 2, the supporting portions 3 3 are integrally formed on the operating levers 25 and extend outwardly in opposite directions from the main body portion of each operating lever 25.

For the purpose of supporting the traific rail, each of the operating levers 25 has a traffic rail supporting portion 35 of rounded, convex configuration, FIGS. 3 and 5, disposed immediately beneath the traffic rail 15. The trafiic rail 15, associated with the operating levers 25, is not secured to the railway ties T in the conventional manner, but is free to move vertically with respect to the stationary ties T, as will be explained herinafter in detail.

Spaced rail gauges 40, FIG. 4, are provided to prevent lateral shifting of the trafiic rail 15 associated with the retarder system, which shifting would change the gauge, that is, the distance between traffic rails. The spaced rail gauges 40, FIG. 4, are secured at suitable intervals to the ties T by spikes (no-t shown) to hold the rail gauges 40 and the flange 41 of the t-rafiic rail 15 from sliding in a horizontal direction. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a fiat mounting plate 42 is secured in face-to-face relationship with a tie T and a pair of vertically extendin-g guide plates 43 spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the width of the flange 41 of the traffic rail 15 and the guide plates 48 restrict horizontal movement of the traffic rail 15 while permitting vertical movement of the traflic rail 15.

The retarding system of the present invention is a proportional force system in that the amount of braking force applied to a railway car is proportional to the weight of the railway car. The weight of the railway car is transmitted through the wheel to the traffic rail 15, which exerts the weight of the railway car as a force tending to rotate the retarder levers 25 to bring the opposed abrasion rails 20 into closer proximity to each other and thereby squeeze the sides of the car wheel therebetween. The greater the weight of the railway car, the greater is the amount of actuating force on the retarder levers 25 to pivot the braking rail-s 20 closer together and thereby the greater is the pressure exerted on the sides of the car wheels by the brake beams 20.

In a known retarder system having generally similar operating levers for the braking beams, the operating levers are eccentrically mounted so that the retarding levers are turned by rotation of the supporting shafts for the levers to increase the space in between the braking rails secured thereto. 'Pivota-l movement of the operating levers in this known retarder is accomplished by actuation of a hydraulic cylinder, which is slung between and beneath the levers, -to turn the supporting shafts and thereby the operating levers. More specifically, if a car wheel is disposed in resting position on the traflic rail of this known retarder system, the actuation of the hydraulic cylinder causes the rotation of the eccentrically mounted supporting shafts for the retarder levers to rotate away from one another and the operating levers lift the traflic rail.

Under the present invention even greater speed in response is achieved because the traflic rail 15 is directly lifted by a series of hydraulic rams 45, FIGS. 2 and 7, which rams 45 are disposed beneath the flange 41 of the trafiic rail 15. Each of the rains 45 is mounted within a hydraulic cylinder 46 and is operable to lift the rail 15 and the railroad car wheel thereon in response to actuation by hydraulic fiuid under sufficient pressure being admitted to the hydraulic cylinder 46. Each of the hydraulic cylinders 46 is supported in position beenath the traffic rail 15 by a pair of space-d cradle orsupport members 48 between which a hydraulic cylinder 46 is secured by an upper trunnion 49 and a pair of lower, spaced cap screws 50. 6' V As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the cradle members 48 each have a hooked end portion 52 hooked over the base plate 42 of the trafiic rail gauge assembly 40. The trunnions 49 are -in the form of cylindrical lugs having threaded ends which are threaded into the side wall 55 of the cylinder 46 to secure the trunnions to the cylinder 49. Cap screws are inserted through apertures 56, FIG. 7, in the cradle members 48 and are threaded into the side walls of the hydraulic cylinder 46 to secure the cradle members 48 in spaced relationship to One another.

A series of hydraulic rams 46 are disposed at suitable intervals along the traflic rail 15, and in the present embodiment of the invention, seven such rams 46 would be provided for approximately thirty-five feet of retarder rail 20. In preferred practice, the cradle members 48 are provided between each adjacent pair of widely spaced railroad ties T. It is to be noted that each of the operating levers 25 is disposed in the small space between a pair of ties T, and the cradle members 48 are disposed in the wide space between the pairs of ties T.

As best seen in FIG. 1, a common hydraulic supply line S has a plurality of branch hose lines B leading to the inlet fitting for a pair of hydraulic cylinders 46. Thus, when a suitable valve (not shown) is opened for the supply line S, hydraulic fluid under pressure is operable through the hose line B and hydraulic cylinders 46 to force the hydraulic rams 45 upwardly to lift the traflic rail 15. The lifting of the trafiic rail 15 by the hydraulic rams 45 is effective to rotate the operating levers 25 through a connecting means 63, FIG. 5, to the traffic rail 15, as will be explained hereinafter.

The connecting means 63 for connecting the traffic levers 25 includes an incline-d lip or flanges 64 on an adjustable or slidable block 65 fitted into slideways 66 on each of the operating levers 25. As best seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the slide block 65 has a generally rectangular body portion 67 from which the inclined lip 64 extends outwardly at the top portion of the body portion'over the fiange 41 of the traflic rail 15. The slideway 66 is a complementally shaped, rectangular-shaped slot to receive the slide block 65 so that as the traffic rail 15 is forced upwardly by the hydraulic rams 45, the lower =fiange 41 of the tarffic rail 15 acting on the lip 64 forces the outer end 68 of the operating lever 25 to pivot upwardly about the axis of the supporting shafts 28. The slide '65 and its projecting lip 64 afford a sliding and loose interconnection with the fiange 41 of the traffic rail 15 so that relative movement is permitted between the bottom surface 69 of the traffic rail 15 and the convex sur face 35 of the retarder lever 25 when the lever 25 moves between the positions of when there is a wheel between the braking rail 20 and when there is no wheel between braking rails.

Another aspect of the present invention is the ability to adjust the position of the contacting surfaces 80 of the braking rails 20 either at initial set-up or at a later time to compensate for wear of the braking rails 20. The positions of the contacting surfaces 80 of the braking rails 20 are adjusted by moving the pivot axes of the respective levers 25 toward or away from the traffic rail 15. As will be explained more fully hereinafter, the movement of the slide 65 relative to the end portion 68 of the retarder lever 25 causes the pivot axis of its lever 25 to shift in a horizontal direction. Turning of an adjusting bolt 70 determines the position of an associated slide 65 relative to end portion 68 of the lever 25.

The adjusting bolt 70 extends through an open slot formed between vertically extending side walls 72, FIGS. 2 and 10, in the end 68 of the operating lever 25. The adjusting bolt 70 is threaded in a nut 74 captured within an opening 75 in the end portion 68 of the operating lever 25. The adjusting bolt 70 is threaded through the nut74, and has its end 78 disposed in contact with the end wall 79 of the slide block 65... Thus, by turning the adjusting bolt 70 inwardly, the slide 65 is forced through the slideway 66 towards the pivotal axis through a supporting shaft 28 mounting the operating lever 25. The nut 74 is prevented from turru'ng within the opening 75 because the opening 75 is dimensioned to receive the lock nut 74 between the flat sides of the nut 74. A removable cotter pin (not shown) may be inserted into a hole in the bolt to extend upwardly between the side walls 72 to prevent rotation of the adjusting bolt 72 due to vibrations or the like.

As shown in FIG. 5, the turning of the adjusting bolt 70 to move inwardly through the lock nut 74 from its dotted line position to its solid line position is accompanied by a leftward movement of the operating lever 25 from its solid line position to the dotted line position. Simultaneously, the abrasion rail 20 is carried inwardly to its dotted line position. For instance, such a movement would be made to compensate for wear to the braking rail 20. Usually, the lever 25 opposite the operating lever 25 is also moved concurrently and through an equal distance so that the braking rails 20 will remain spaced apart to keep the centerline of the wheel centered between abrasion rails 20. In this manner, as the retarding or abrasion rails 20 undergo wear, the retarder rails 20 are adjusted so as to compensate for the wearing away of the outer wheel engaging surface 80.

It will be noted that the rear end portion 82 of the abrasion rail 20 is solidly disposed against an integral support surface 83 on the operating lever 25 to provide non-movable and solid support for holding the brake beam 20 against lateral movement when engaging a car wheel.

In operation, a railroad car having a wheel entering between the exit ends 85, FIG. 1, of the retarding rails 20 on the traffic rail 15, exerts a downward force on the operating levers proportional to the combined weight of the railroad car and its cargo, if any.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the rail gauge guides the traflic rail 41 downwardly and prevents any excessive lateral movement of the traffic rail 15. The traflic rail 15 exerts a force on the convex support surface 35 of the operating levers 25 to pivot the levers 25 downwardly to bring the opposed surfaces 80 of their respective abrasion rails 20 into tighter engagement with the car wheel so as to apply a greater frictional force to the sides of the car wheel or wheels. The amount of frictional force exerted against the side of a car wheel or car wheels of a railroad car is proportional to the weight of the railroad car since the greater the weight of the railroad car the greater will be the force attempting to rotate the abrasion rails 20'closer together to squeeze more tightly against the car wheel. Depending upon the particular operation of the retarder, the abrasion rails 20 are adapted to either retard the velocity of the railroad car down to a predetermined speed or to completely stop the railroad car for a later release.

Whether or not a car wheel is in the retarder, the retarder may be positioned in an open or released position with the abrasion rails spread apart from their wheel engaging positions by application of hydraulic fluid through the common supply line S and branch lines B to the hydraulic cylinders 46 to move the rams upwardly to lift the rail 15 upwardly, and immediately remove the weight of the railroad car as an actuating force on the operating levers 25. Incidental to the lifting of the traflic rail 15, the flange 41 of the traflic rail 15 through the respective slide block connecting means 63 of the respective operating levers 25 pivots the levers 25 upwardly to move the abrasion surfaces 80 of the rails 20 further apart. Thus, any looseness between connections or frictional turning resistance by the opearting levers 25 does not slow down the release of the weight of the railroad car as an actuating force for the braking force.

The hydraulic rams 45 are supported in hydraulic cylinders 46 secured by cradle support members 48 between adjacent railroad ties T. Thus, amount of upward movement of the traflic rail 15 is independent of any special foundation or support for the hydraulic cylinder 46. When the hydraulic pressurized fluid holding the ram 45 upwardly is removed, the tratfic rail 15 and operating lever 25 drop from their respective upper positions, the force of gravity being sufficient to pull the traflic rail 15 downwardly and rotate the operating levers 25 from the position to which they are moved by the hydraulic lifting means. Even a failure in the hydraulic supply to the rams 45 fails to render the retarder beams 25 ineffective. This is true, irrespective of the position of the levers 25 and loss of hydraulic fluid. The retarder mechanism is always operable to apply retarding force to the car wheels and thus is considered to be fail safe.

Either during initial installation or during an adjustment for wear, the positions of the wheel engaging surfaces on the abrasion rails 20 are adjustable by turning the adjusting bolts 70 to move the levers 25 and abrasion rails 20 relative to the traffic rail 15.

From the foregoing it will be seen that under the present invention the retarder system includes a novel apparatus applying a force directly to lift the trafiic rail, and that incidental to lifting of the traffic rail, the operating levers for the retarding beams are pivoted apart. Also, under the present invention, the hydraulic cylinders for lifting the traflic rail are supported by support members carried by adjacent ties so as to eliminate the need for any special foundation for the hydraulic cylinders. The connecting means between the traffic rail and the operating levers also functions to adjust the spacing of the brake beams.

Hence, while we have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and we therefore do not WlSh'tO be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview o the following claims.

We claim:

1. A retarding system for retarding the movement of railroad cars with a braking force proportional to the weight of a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels disposed on traflic rails, at least one which is vertically movable with respect to the railroad ties,

a plurality of levers mounted on opposite sides of at least one of said traflic rails and each of said levers adapted for pivotal movement,

braking means secured to each of said levers and engageable with a car wheel to exert a retarding force thereon,

mean on each of said levers for supporting said one traffic rail,

the weight of said railroad car on said one trafiic rail forcing'said levers to pivot in opposite directions of pivotal movement to bring said braking means together to exert a retarding force proportional to the weight of said railroad car on said one trafiic rail,

means connecting said levers to said one traflic rail,

and

lifting means supported on said ties for lifting said one trafiic rail upwardly to remove the weight of said railroad car from said levers and through said connecting means to pivot said retarding rails to move said braking means further apart.

2. A retarding system for retarding the movement of railroad cars with a braking force proportional to the weight of a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels disposed on trafiic rails, at least one of which is vertically movable with respect to railroad ties,

a pair of levers mounted on opposite sides of at least one of said traflic rails and each of said levers adapted for pivotal movement,

retarder rails secured to each of said levers and engageable with a car wheel to exert a retarding force on traffic rails, at least one of which is movable with rethereon, spect to railroad ties,

support means on each of said levers extending under a pair of levers mounted on opposite sides of one of said one traflic rail for supporting said one traffic said traffic rails and adapted for pivotal movement, rail, the weight of said railroad car on said one trafbraking rails secured to each of said levers and engagefic rail forcing said levers to pivot in opposite direcable with a car wheel to exert a braking force thereon, tions of pivotal movement to bring said retarder rails a convex surface on each of said levers under said one closer together to exert a retarding force proporof said traffic rails for supporting said one traflic rail, tional to the weight forcing said one traffic rail downthe weight of said railroad car on said one traflic wardly, 10 rail forcing said levers to pivot in opposite directions means connecting said levers to said one trafiic rail, and of pivotal movement to bring said braking rails tolifting means supported on said ties and having fluid gether to exert a retarding force proportional to the cylinder means disposed beneath said one traflic rail weight forcing said one traflic .rail downwardly, and operable to lift said one traflic rail, said one trafadjustable connecting means for connecting said one fic rail operable through said connecting means to trafiic rail to each of said levers, said connecting pivot said levers to separate said retarder rails farmeans having a portion overlying a portion of the ther apart when said connecting means is lifted by base of said one traific rail, and being adjustable relasaid one traffic rail. tive to said one traffic rail to change the spacing be- 3. In a retarding apparatus for retarding the movement tween said braking rails, and

of railroad cars with a force proportional to the weight of fluid lifting means disposed beneath said one traflic a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels disposed rail to lift said one traffic rail and throug Said 6011- on traffic rails disposed over railroad ties, necting means to rotate said braking rails to separate a pair of levers mounted on opposite sides of one of said braking rails to release the railroad car wheel. said traffic rails and adapted for pivotal movement, 6. In a retarding apparatus for retarding the movement retarder rails secured to ea h of aid levers and engageof railroad cars with a force proportional to the weight able with a car wheel to exert a retarding force thereof a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels dison, posed on traflic rails,

a supporting surface on each of said levers for supporta pair of levers mounted on opposite sides of one of ing said one traffic rail, the weight of said railroad aid 'Efafllc rails 311d adapted Pivotal movement, car on said one traflic rail forcing said levers to pivot braking rails secured to each of Said levers and engagein opposite directions of pivotal movement to brin able with a car wheel to exert a braking force theresaid retarder rails together to exert a retarding force on, proportional to the Weight forcing said n t fiio convex supporting surfaces on each of said levers for rail downwardly, Supporting said one traffic rail, the weight of said means connecting said levers to said one traffic rail, railroad car on said one traffic rail forcing said levers pivot sh ft means disposed on r il ad ti on to pivot in opposite directions of pivotal movement to posite sides of said one traffic rail, and bring said braking rails together to exert a retarding fluid operable lifting means suspended between railf rC proportional to the weight forcing said one road ties and beneath said one traflic rail to lift said one traflic rail, said one traflic rail operable through said connecting means to pivot said levers to separate said retarder rails further apart to release said railroad car wheel.

traffic rail downwardly,

a slidable block disposed in each of said levers for reciprocal movement relative to the pivotal axis of its associated lever, each of said slideable blocks engageable with said one trafiic rail,

adjusting screw means in each of said levers for moving said lever and its slideable block relative to each other and thereby adjust the position of an associated braking rail, and

fluid operable lifting means for lifting said one traffic rail and rotating said levers to separate farther apart said braking rails.

7. In a retarding apparatus for retarding the movement of railroad cars with a force proportional to the weight of a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels disposed on traflic rails,

.a pair of levers mounted on opposite sides of at least one of said trafiic rails and each of said levers adapted for pivotal movement, braking rails secured to each of said levers and engageable with a car wheel to exert a braking force thereon, i

4. In a retarding apparatus for retarding the wheels of railroad cars with a force proportional to the weight of a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels disposed on trafiic rails,

pivot shafts disposed to span a pair of adjacent railroad ties,

a pair of retarder levers mounted on opposite sides of one of said traflic rails, and each pivotally mounted on one of said pivot shafts,

retarder rails secured to each of said levers and engageable with a car wheel to exert a retarding force thereon, means on each of said levers for supporting said one traffic rail, the weight of said railroad car on said one traffic rail forcing said levers to pivot in opposite directions of pivotal movement to bring said retarder rails together to exert a retarding force proportional '60 to the weight forcing said one traffic rail downwardly, pp g Surfaces 011 each of Said levers for pp means connecting said levers to said one traflic rail, ing a tfafinlc fail, the Weight of Said railroad 0H and said one traffic rail forcing said levers to pivot in lifting means supported by the railroad ties for lifting ppo ite d i ns Of pivotal movement to bring said one traffic rail and through said connecting aid raking rails together to exert a retarding force means to rotate said retarding rails to separate said proportional to the Weight forcing Said 0116 trafilc retarder rails farther apart, said lifting means includ- Tall dOWIJWHTdIY, in support memb t di between a i f connecting means on each of said levers having a poradjacent r il d i d tion overlying a portion of a flange of said one fluid operable ram means secured to said support mem- 7 O tram? Tail,

bers and actuatable to engage and to lift said one a plurality of Pairs of suspending members disposed trafli rail, between adjacent pairs of railroad ties,

5. In a retarding apparatus for retarding th movement hydraulic cylinders secured between each of said susof railroad cars with a force proportional to the weight of pending members, and a railroad car, said Iailroad car having its wheels disposed hydraulic operable rams in each of said cylinders and disposed beneath the flange of said trafiic rail to engage and to lift said one traffic r-ail upwardly in response to hydraulic pressure in said cylinders.

8. A retarding apparatus for retarding the movement of railroad cars with a force proportional to the weight of a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels disposed on traflic rails having bases supported on a series of pairs of closely and widely spaced railroad ties,

supporting shafts disposed on opposite sides of one trafiic rail and each spanning a pair of closely positioned railroad ties,

a one-piece lever pivotally mounted on each of said supporting shafts for pivotal movement about the axis of said supporting shaft,

said levers disposed between said pairs of closely spaced railroad ties and having a portion disposed beneath said one traffic rail and a portion extending to the side of said trafiic rail opposite its pivotal axis,

braking means secured to each of said levers on one side of said one traffic rail and movable by said levers into engagement with a car wheel to exert a frictional retarding force on said car wheel,

said braking means mounted on said levers to pivot closer together to exert a retarding force proportional to the weight of the railroad car forcing said levers to pivot about their respective pivotal axis,

the portions of said levers extending on the opposite sides of said one traffic rail from its respective pivotal axis having a slideway formed therein,

a slidable block means disposed in said slideway and having a flange portion adapted to overlie one side of the base of said one traflic rail,

an adjusting screw means adapted to be turned to slide said slidable block towards said one trafiic rail and thereby move the pivotal axis for said lever toward said one traffic rail to adjust the spacing between said braking means,

a plurality of suspending means each spanning between widely spaced railroad ties, and

hydraulic cylinder means secured to said suspending means beneath said base of said one traflic rail, and hydraulic ram means in each of said hydraulic cylinders for lifting said one traflic rail upwardly against the Weight of said railroad car from said levers, upward movement of said traffic rail lifting said flanges on said slidable blocks and through said slidable blocks pivoting said levers to move said braking means further apart.

9. A retarding apparatus for retarding the movement of railroad cars with a force proportional to the weight of a railroad car, said railroad car having its wheels disposed on traffic rails having bases beneath which are a series of pairs of closely spaced railroad ties,

supporting shafts disposed on opposite sides of one traflic rail and spanning a pair of closely spaced railroad ties,

a plurality of one piece levers, each pivotally mounted on one said supporting shafts for pivotal movement about the axis of said supporting shaft,

said levers disposed between said pairs of closely spaced railroad ties and having a portion disposed beneath said one trafiic rail and a portion extending to the side of said one trafiic rail opposite its pivotal axis,

braking means secured to each of said levers on one side of said one traflic rail and movable by said levers into engagement 'with a car wheel to exert a frictional retarding force on said car wheel,

said braking means mounted on said levers to pivot closer together to exert a retarding force proportional to the weight of the railroad car forcing said levers to pivot about their respective pivotal axis,

the portions of said levers extending on the opposite sides of said one trafiic rail from its respective pivotal axis having a slideway formed therein,

a slidable block means disposed in said slideway and having a flange portion adapted to overlie one side of the base of said one traflic rail,

an adjusting screw means adapted to be turned to slide said slidable block towards said one traffic rail and thereby move the pivotal axis for said lever toward said one traffic rail to adjust the spacing between said braking means,

gauge means restricting lateral movement of said one trafiic rail and for guiding said one traffic rail for vertical movement, hydraulic lifting means for lifting said one traffic rail upwardly to remove the weight of said railroad car from said levers, and

upward movement of said one traflic rail lifting said flanges on said slideable blocks and through said slideable blocks pivoting said levers to move said braking means further apart.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,792,206 2/ 1931 Wenzel 18 8-62 2,275,888 3/ 1942 Clausen 18862 3,139,954 7/ 1964 Jefierson 18862 DUANE A. REGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A RETARDING SYSTEM FOR RETARDING THE MOVEMENT OF RAILROAD CARS WITH A BRAKING FORCE PROPORTIONAL TO THE WEIGHT OF A RAILROAD CAR, SAID RAILROAD CAR HAVING ITS WHEELS DISPOSED ON TRAFFIC RAILS, AT LEAST ONE WHICH IS VERTICALLY MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE RAILROAD TIES, A PLURALITY OF LEVERS MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID TRAFFIC RAILS AND EACH OF SAID LEVERS ADAPTED FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT, BRAKING MEANS SECURED TO EACH OF SAID LEVERS AND ENGAGEABLE WITH A CAR WHEEL TO EXERT A RETARDING FORCE THEREON, MEANS ON EACH OF SAID LEVERS FOR SUPPORTING SAID ONE TRAFFIC RAIL, THE WEIGHT OF SAID RAILROAD CAR ON SAID ONE TRAFFIC RAIL FORCING SAID LEVERS TO PIVOT IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS OF PIVOTAL MOVEMENT TO BRING SAID BRAKING MEANS TOGETHER TO EXERT A RETARDING FORCE PROPORTIONAL TO THE WEIGHT OF SAID RAILROAD CAR ON SAID ONE TRAFFIC RAIL, MEANS CONNECTING SAID LEVERS TO SAID ONE TRAFFIC RAIL, AND LIFTING MEANS SUPPORTED ON SAID TIES FOR LIFTING SAID ONE TRAFFIC RAIL UPWARDLY TO REMOVE THE WEIGHT OF SAID RAILROAD CAR FROM SAID LEVERS AND THROUGH SAID CONNECTING MEANS TO PIVOT SAID RETARDING RAILS TO MOVE SAID BRAKING MEANS FURTHER APART. 